Mandela's wife elected chancellor of the University of Cape Town

Posted: Wednesday, September 29, 1999

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - Graca Machel, the wife of Nelson Mandela, was elected chancellor of the University of Cape Town, becoming the first black person and the first woman to hold the position.

Machel, a former education minister in Mozambique, will confer degrees and represent the university at some public functions.

The ceremonial position has been vacant for three years, since the resignation of mining magnate Harry Oppenheimer. The appointment is for 10 years.

Machel, 53, married Mandela last year. She is the widow of Samora Machel, the Mozambican president who died in a plane crash in 1986.